St. Mary's Bellringers

The bellringers at St. Mary's meet every Friday from 7.30pm to 9pm and on Sunday mornings from 9.15-10am. Bellringing provides both physical and mental exercise. At Calne St. Mary, the first exercise is in climbing the 50 tower steps up to the ringing chamber. Bellringing itself provides upper body exercise, as well as mental stimulation and social interaction. We offer free training and are always pleased to welcome new recruits. Go to : - http://calnestmarybells.btck.co.ukfor more information

Here is a picture of the scene from the Church tower on 20th March 2018.

At Calne we have 8 bells (known as a 'ring of 8'). The heaviest bell is the tenor, which weighs about 23 cwt. The oldest bell is the 'sanctus' bell which is rung just before services; this is approximately 500 years old. The next two oldest bells are the treble and 5th, which were cast in 1707.

If you want to make a donation to our Calne Bells and Clock Project then click on the 'donate' button.

We are planning a major restoration project for the bells and the clock.The aim of the restoration project is to make sure that the bells and clock are in use for many years to come. This is to be achieved by:

Removing the bells and putting them into a new frame lower in the tower;

to reduce the amount of movement caused to the tower by the ringing of the bells

To renew the structures associated with the bells

To make the bells easier to ring, so that more new bellringers, of a wider range of ages and abilities, can be trained.

Install two new bells in the frame to create a ring of 10 bells, again to make it easier for more people to be trained to ring the bells in the future.

Tune the existing bells to make a more musical sound.

Install sound control, so that the level of sound can be reduced for practise times if needed.

Move the clock mechanism to a new ‘clock room’ above the bells and

To refurbish the clock face

Convert the clock to electrical winding

This project will not involve any changes to the outside of the tower, but will require a remodelling of the inside. The work involved will cost nearly £200,000 and we will be applying for grants, as well as asking for donations from individuals and local businesses.

Anyone is welcome to come and watch the ringing or to see the bells by arrangement.